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Ok, good news first: when Matt Garza’s live batting practice session ended early today due to an apparent injury, it didn’t involve his previously-troubled elbow.

Bad news second: all that stuff above.

It appeared that Garza was having trouble with his left side after his 20th pitch in what was to be a 40-pitch outing, and tried to stretch it out before departing. He conferenced with the trainer and Dale Sveum, and ultimately exited. Hopefully it’s nothing major, and there’s just an abundance of caution right now. Of course, when he left his start against the Cardinals last year in July with “triceps cramping,” it didn’t look like much either. He hadn’t faced live hitters since.

We’ll know more later.

UPDATE: Dale Sveum addressed the media, and called Garza’s injury a “mild lat strain.” He said it’s hopefully nothing, and didn’t seem to suggest that it was serious. Undoubtedly, this is the best we could have hoped for, if it’s being portrayed accurately. A strained oblique could have cost Garza serious time, and obviously a re-injury of his elbow could have ended his season. This is probably one of those “super cautious” situations. Still, I won’t blame you if you won’t exhale until Garza steps back on the mound.

He’ll be reevaluated tomorrow, and it’s too early to know what the injury does to his throwing schedule. He’s likely to take some time off, though.

Side note: remember when Ryan Dempster missed a huge chunk of time last year leading up to the trade deadline? Remember how it seemed like a convenient phantom injury designed to protect Dempster from a serious injury while the Cubs shopped him? It was a mildly strained lat.

BOTTOM LINE: The 2013 Chicago Cubs will probably
be a little better than last year. Actually,if they can stay
healthy, the just may be “competitive”

Die hard

Struck to stick as lightening to strike

Dr Kenneth Noisewater

On the surface it sounds like a possible oblique injury. Hope it’s not.

CubFan Paul

Danks’ 5/$65M looks good now doesn’t it Matty? Idiot.

Diamondrock

So he hurt himself during batting practice? I’d say that’s another point for the DH in the NL…

TC

*throwing batting practice. It was a live BP session where the pitchers threw to the hitters. I guess he threw to Baez and one other before coming up lame

Diamondrock

Well, that *does* make more sense. Do pitchers in the NL practice batting at all?

TSB

So some player hurts himself playing with his kid. Is that an argument for a vow of chasity for all players?

Marc N.

The guy is clearly holding the organization hostage so he gets paid to rest and the Cubs never get the prospects back that he stole from them.

TC

lolOK

Every bit of time he misses reduces the amount the Cubs or anyone else will pay him. Why would he intentionally get hurt/say he was hurt to miss time? All it does is hurt his stock

Marc N.

He probably wants to stay with the Cubs and steal their chance to have the #1 farm? Iunno, it smells dia-bolical THO.

BluBlud

To say he is faking an injury to scare off a potential trade partner because wants to stay with the Cubs is one thing, though I doubt he is/would do(ing) that. But to fake an injury to rest while gatting paid, especially in a contract year, make no sense.

Marc N.

Sorry I’m being a bag of dicks in a place that doesn’t deserve it.

Maybe he changed something in his mechanics this winter or something.

MikeCubs23

Maybe its because he hasn’t pitched in so long and his juices were flowing and he over did it. That can happen and I think that’s what occurred.

http://www.bleachernation.com Luke

Pitchers slightly tweaking or pulling something in their first couple mound stints of the spring isn’t unusual at all. Garza’s history makes it more concerning, but odds are good this mountain will turn out to be a fairly small mole hill in the end.

Die hard

He should’ve been in better shape

Kansas Cubs Fan

And you should have had a V-8.

Sorry, you leave that door open I have to walk through it.

Cheryl

Hope it resolves itself soon, but if it doesn’t at least this time we have a lot of pitchers that could srep in.

Spriggs

Damn… on the bright side, those 20 or so pitches sure looked good.

mudge

Can’t knock a guy for trying tweak out a living.

Die hard

Hope this is not going to be a remake of How A Pitcher Self Destructs- original starring Mark Prior

waittilthisyear

i think we are all freaking out a little more than necessary.

EvenBetterNewsV2.0

Its the Cubs. Its what we do. Its because of what we have seen in our life, and even whats been before our lifetime.

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